He could see right through it. “You’re lying. Who’s out there?”
“I don’t know…”
“Lie!”
The doorbell rang, again.
Face unsheathed the machete from his leg strap, and proceeded to go to the door, but Buddy was quick to stop him.
“I’m going to go check it out. Keep an eye on her.” He pointed to Haley. “Don’t let her try any stupid shit like saying she’ll love you if you let her go. All right?”
Face nodded.
Buddy bolted from the room, but not before removing his mask and handing it to Face for him to hold.
Haley prayed to God that Carlee wasn’t at that door, but she knew without a doubt that she was.
****
Waiting for the door to open, Carlee held her breath. When it suddenly did, the breath forced its way out in a gasp.
The man on the other side of the door smiled. His hair was damp, his face glossy with a coating of water or sweat. Had he just come out of the shower? He kept his right arm concealed behind the door, but his left was in plain sight. “Hello, may I help you?” Though a little winded, his voice was very pleasant.
This had to be one of the men Joel told her about. Since he wasn’t wearing a burlap sack on his head, Carlee assumed he wasn’t Pillowface. She flexed a bogus smile for the man. She’d become quite talented in this field from having to deal with frequent herds of scum at the firm.
“Hi, I’m Carlee.”
“Hello, Carlee, I’m Buddy. What can I do for you?”
“I was coming by to pick up Haley. We’re supposed to go to the movies?”
His smile receded, but he quickly put on another one. “Oh?”
“Yeah, are you a friend of hers?”
He nodded. “Sure, a friend of Haley’s, that’s right.”
“Oh, okay, is she ready? If we don’t hurry up I’ll miss the coming attractions, and I can’t stand it when that happens. It’s just as important as the actual movie.”
“Yeah, I was the same way.”
“Was?”
“Well, I imagine I still would be, but I never go to the movies anymore.”
“Aw. Why’s that?”
“Well, it never comes up.”
“That’s too bad. You’re missing out on some great ones.”
“I’m sure I am. It’s not that I don’t want to go, it just never works out that I get to go. You know what I mean?”
“Too busy?”
“Yeah, something along those lines.”
She knew he’d been lured by her charm and fallen right into her trap. He was talking more than he’d probably bargained for.
“So, I hate to ask again, but is she ready?”
“No, sorry. She’s not here.”
“What?”
“Yeah, she took off with some other guy. Thin, kind of nerdy looking.”
“Alan.”
“Alan, yeah that’s right. I’m just here, hanging out.”
“Well then, this is your lucky day.”
His smile coiled. “I’m sorry?”
“You get to go to the movies with me.”
“How do you figure?”
Carlee threw another grin at him and swayed her hip. “Since Haley has blown me off, then you get to accompany me to the show.”
Buddy appeared to be legitimately delighted by the idea. “You’re asking me to the movies?”
“Yeah, you sound surprised.”
“Well, I am. I mean, you don’t know me. What if I’m some kind of psychopath?”
“Oh, I doubt that. You seem like a pussycat.”
He laughed.
Look at that smile, she thought. Very warm and charming.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got too much to do.”
“Like what?”
He sighed. “Too much. I’m sorry, Carlee, but I have to close the door on you now.”
“Aw, do you have to?”
“I’m afraid so. Again, I appreciate the offer, but I just can’t.”
“That’s too bad.”
With a groan, he said, “Tell me about it.”
He attempted to close the door, but she managed to stick her foot in to block it. He glanced down at the dusky leg glowing with perfection from the shorts she was wearing. Her delicate calf was turned to the side, flaunting him the curve. Carlee already regretted having done it. She was being too pushy and a guy like this would surely suspect something before too long.
Hurry up Joel. This is going to get bad.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I-I don’t know.”
“You just stopped me from closing the door. Didn’t you hear what I said? I’ve got things to do.”
“I heard you, but I just didn’t like it.”
Smirking, he appeared to be growing tired of her act. “Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want you to leave. I’ll let Haley know that you stopped by. I’m being very generous here.”
Oh, I know that. She was still alive and he’d given her multiple chances to leave, and she’d taken none of them. His courteous offer would expire soon.
“Okay, if you really don’t want to come with me.”
“I do, but I can’t.” At the end his voice rose in pitch.
“All right, I won’t keep you any longer.” She reached into her purse hanging from her shoulder.
“Thank you for being understanding.”
“I know how hectic things can get.”
Nodding, he added, “I’m sure you do.”
“One more thing, real quick.”
“What is it?”
Her fingers curved around the aluminum canister in her purse. It was cold and slick in her hand. “Could you give her this?” She wrenched her hand free of the purse, aiming the mace at his eyes. She squeezed the nozzle and waited for the spray to splash him, temporarily blinding him so she could run inside. Hopefully Joel would be coming down the stairs about that time. Then they could get Haley and assuming Alan was in there, him too, and get the fuck away from here.
There was just one slight problem with her plan. One pivotal point that she’d completely neglected in all of this.
She hadn’t removed the safety block from the mace after purchasing it. Instead of misting his eyes with a scorching liquid, it only hissed at him.
He wasn’t amused.
Carlee looked at the can and realized her mistake. “Oh, shit.”
Then he decked her in the mouth, splitting both her lips up and down the middle. Her head rocked back. She felt vertebrae popping at the back of her neck. Before she could fall, Buddy had scooped her up and hoisted her over his shoulder. He gave a quick look around.
No porch lights were clicking on. Carlee didn’t detect any neighbors running to her rescue, so apparently, he hadn’t been spotted.
He was inside with the door shut and locked before the colorful splotches began exploding through Carlee’s vision.
Running back into the living room, Buddy shouted, “Face?”
He dropped Carlee on the wooden floor. It jarred her body, flashing pain from her toes to her eyes.
“This is getting fucked; we’ve got to get this wrapped up and out of here. I’m sure more will be popping up before too long.”
****
Haley looked down at her friend. Poor Carlee had no idea what the hell was going on here.
What she was walking into…
More tears spilled from her scratchy, red eyes.
Buddy glanced down at Carlee, shaking his head. “I told you to leave. Gave you ample opportunities to walk, but you wouldn’t. Do you think I like being rough with women? Well, I don’t.” He looked over at Haley. “Who is she? What was she doing here? How did she know something was going on?”
Haley shook her head, sobbing. She had no idea why he would think she knew anything.
“Tell me who she is or I’ll stomp her throat in!”
“Carlee! My friend…”
“Carlee
your friend, huh?” He looked down at her, his hands on his hips like someone who’d just watched a bad football play. “This is really bad for Carlee your friend. She forced her way into this, now she can’t leave.”
Face lowered the machete, the tip pointing at the floor. He looked from Haley to Carlee with evident regret in his eyes.
Haley figured he was dreading the order to kill them that would surely come soon.
“Carp should be back any second now. He can handle Carlee. But, Haley?”
She looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering and flinching from the torrents of snot streaming over it.
“I’m taking care of you, myself.”
Haley felt some sort of relief in hearing that, because that meant it would soon be over.
(III)
The saw had worked perfectly as a wedge. Pushing it under the window, he’d angled it down on his side, and the window shot upward with a quick shwoomp. He tensed, expecting at any moment for the intruders to barge in and see him clinging helplessly to a gutter outside.
They never came.
He tossed the saw apparatus into the room and used his left hand to raise the window high enough for him to squeeze through. Once inside, he didn’t bother closing it back. He scooped up the saw and walked to the closed door. Gently, he eased it open. The muffled sounds became clearer and more audible. From downstairs he heard a man declaring he would take care of Haley himself. His heart lurched. No! He needed to act now. No holding back.
Pushing back the tears that wanted to shed, he took in a deep breath as a stellar image materialized in front of him as if it were real. Its chrome body eased Joel’s fear, but only a little.
Dad’s gun.
A six-cylinder .41 magnum revolver that his Mom had detested from the day it was purchased at a gun show.
It had been Joel’s idea to sneak in through Haley’s window, get the keys to their parents’ room, and go to the closet where the gun had sat in its wooden box since the one and only time they’d gone into the woods to shoot it. Mom had really freaked then.
But, wasn’t the box locked with a padlock?
Hell with it, I’ll break the fucker open.
But, Carlee had convinced him he would need a distraction to help conceal what he was doing. He’d protested, but she’d eventually won him over.
He spun on his heels and hurried to Haley’s dresser, opened the jewelry box, then snatched the key. With it dangling from his fingers he went to the door, poking his head out through the tight space he’d allotted himself. Things sounded as they’d somewhat settled downstairs. He could hear the perceptible tones of voices, but couldn’t understand what was being said.
Keeping the saw close so the belt wouldn’t jingle, he darted across the hall, ducking down as he came to the railing over the living room. In the corner of his eye he detected some people down there, and one of them for sure was Pillowface. It was hard to miss someone of his build. He was just standing off to the side, doing nothing.
Why wasn’t he helping them?
He stopped at the bedroom door and pushed the key into the lock. His trembling hand gave him trouble with the key. After a couple attempts he succeeded with turning it. The knob clicked and he twisted it open. The door slowly swayed inward. He didn’t hesitate as he dashed through the darkened room, heading straight for the closet. He was inside before taking another breath and fumbling at the string hanging from the overhead light bulb. He found it, pulled it down, and the light switched on. It was a soft glow, nearly yellow in color. The bulb would probably burn out soon. That depressed him. He could remember when Dad had put that bulb in. He wasn’t looking forward to replacing it with another one.
He found the box just where he remembered it being: centered on the top shelf. Bringing it down to the floor, he knelt in front of it as if it were the lost ark. As he’d suspected, it was locked tight. Dad was extra careful with how he stored it. Joel raised the saw above his head with the flat end pointed down like he was about to sacrifice the box to a mythical god. He brought the blade down, splitting the box in the middle. The wood splintered and cracked. Then he punched it, putting the final say on its existence.
Joel pulled back the broken pieces. The gun, untouched in years, still shined as if it were brand new in the carpet-comforted case. It was loaded. Another round-clip with six bullets was nestled into another compartment above it. He grabbed the magazine, stuffing it down one of his pockets. He curled his fingers around the handle of the magnum and lifted it out of the box. It felt cold and slick in his hand. An orb of light glimmered off the barrel. He felt much stronger, powerful. Strange, how a mean weapon such as this could do that to a person, even one as young as Joel.
If he hadn’t been so mesmerized by the pistol, he probably would have heard the approach of footsteps. He’d wasted so much time already, and the gun had distracted him even more.
“That’s a pretty piece you got there. Won’t Daddy get pissed if he finds out you been playing in his toolbox?”
Joel jumped at the low voice full of a staggering rage that came off as nearly pleasant.
Joel looked behind him and saw the voice’s owner. A slim man, dressed in green, with a hat on his head. He stood near his parents’ bed with his arms folded over his chest. His smile stretched the corners of his mouth.
“I take it that Jones guy didn’t find you.”
“He found me…”
The man scanned Joel’s clothes and nodded. “I see. Is that his blood on you?”
Joel nodded.
“I’ll bite. I’m impressed kid. You killed the man who was sent to kill you. I’ll be damned. But, you fucked up in the meantime. Want to know how?”
Joel did want to know, but had suddenly forgotten how to speak.
The man continued. “You haven’t shot me yet.”
Remembering the gun clutched in his sweaty hands, Joel tried to quickly aim it at the man’s chest. But before he could even focus his line of sight, the man had snatched the pistol from his fingers and slapped him across the face with his other hand. Joel’s eyes welled with tears as stinging tendrils of pain coursed through his head.
The man stepped back, putting the gun behind his back, then he reached down and picked up the saw. The belt dangled from behind it like two tails.
“This is odd looking. Did you make this?”
Joel held his cheek, sobbing. He tried to tell him no, but couldn’t slow his breathing down enough to do it, so he only shook his head.
“I didn’t think so. This looks like Face’s work.”
Just like the movies…I should have expected this. I’ve written stuff like this. Just when you’re about to win…something out of the blue happens. He’d been careless and slow. Stupid. Letting his guard down instead of being on alert like a real man would have been.
Sorry Haley…sorry Carlee, I let you down…
His eyes were still streaming with tears as the man reached for him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
(I)
This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
In the movies the central characters always won in the end by beating the bad guys, slaying the maniac in a gory demise, or succeeding in sending the demons back to hell. One problem Joel never took into consideration until now was: This isn’t a damn movie!
By a handful of his hair, Joel was being dragged. He struggled to keep up, and when he wasn’t moving fast enough, he felt it on his scalp. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the man began yelling.
“Here’s the little shit!!”
Another man turned. “Carp? Where the hell have you been?”
“I was on my way back from the neighbor’s and saw this little shit sneaking around the house, so I followed him in.”
“Where’s the guy we sent after him?”
Carp shoved Joel forward, but didn’t release his hair. “Who, Jones? Look at the blood all over him.”
The one with the plastic mask on his head looked surprised. “
He killed him?”
“Yep.”
“Wow kid…”
“Guess you know now that you should have sent me, Buddy. This would have been over a long time ago.”
“Don’t start with me.”
Haley screamed when she saw Joel. Carlee lay on the floor, moving, but barely. She was bleeding pretty heavily from the mouth. She’d failed, but that was all right, so had Joel. The plan that they’d thought was so brilliant had turned out to be a catastrophe.
A man was splayed awkwardly on the patio, the glass door shattered. Joel guessed he’d been thrown through the door and probably sliced to ribbons by the glass. It was obvious the man was dead. Joel had seen enough dead bodies in recent days to recognize the blue cast of skin as a bad sign. He also recognized the guy as Alan from the bookstore, which hurt Joel even more. How many people were going to die because of him? He’d already lost so many…
“Toss him down there next to his sister.”
Nodding, Carp flung Joel by the hair. He crashed against Haley’s legs. She quickly lifted them and wrapped them around his shoulders. He supposed it was her way of trying to hold him close to her. As awkward as it was, it was great to have. He hugged one of her legs and didn’t want to ever let go.
Carp held up the gun. “The kid snuck in through a window and had gotten this. I guess he was going to go all Death Wish and start shooting everybody.” He turned around and planted his boot firmly in Joel’s stomach.
****
Joel’s cries pulled Pillowface from the kitchen. He charged into the room and spotted Joel on the floor by Carp. Buddy had that look in his eye. The one that normally meant hell was on the verge of breaking loose. Haley sat in the chair crying and screaming. All her beauty was practically gone. Her strength had been replaced by panic and collapse. Buddy was good at that. Bringing people down to their lowest rung before letting them drop.
The order for everyone’s death was coming. Any minute now, he and Carp would be put to work.
Pillowface was being pulled in two directions. To Buddy, who he’d been loyal to for a few years now and to Joel, the one who made him remember what it was like to be innocent, and that everyone could be cursed by abandonment. This kid was a lot like them actually. He’d watched his happiness and dreams get pushed to the wayside while life dealt him a cruel, bitter hand from the reality deck of cards.
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